Into the Dark
by Buckety DW
Summary: Everyone I know is dead. I hovered in my safe haven, my beacon of light, without even realizing it would be the death of me. Sometimes, the darkness is safer than the light. He showed me that. Daryl/OC Governor/Andrea Maggie/Glenn Michonne/OOC Rated T for swearing and mild sexual innuendoes
1. Intro

It's weird, the darkness. It seems so scary from your illuminated bedroom. You peer out the window and see nothingness. But as soon as your lights go out, as soon as the darkness envelops you, the outside doesn't seem so bad anymore. Light is what makes the darkness so dark. Your lit safe haven from the dark is the only thing making you scared of it. But if you're in the dark, you can see what's around you. Sometimes blackness reveals more than luminescence.

Life's like that sometimes, isn't it? The things that you think keep you safe are really the cause of your fear. It's all a lie to put you in a sense of euphoria. And it drowns you.

I was stuck in that light. Falling by choice, waiting to hit the surprise rock bottom.

Until he came along.

He showed me the true form of the light, guided me into darkness. And it was better and safer than anything else. He saved me from something I never would have knew was killing me.

This is the story of how I met him.

How I met Daryl Dixon.

**Hey! So this is just an idea I'm going to be working on, I'm not sure yet, so please comment and let me know what you think!**

**PS Oh I update on Mondays! :)**

**PPS yeah so I'm gonna clarify something. Someone was bitching about my OC pairing and blah blah blah well whoever you are you can calm your tits cuz there's probably going to be other OC pairings along the way that I didn't mention because I write in the spur-of-a-moment. Kay thanks!**

**XD -Jo**


	2. Chapter 1: Freya

I hiked through the woods, hoping with everything I had that I'd run across a house. Apparently whatever cruel god was upstairs was feeling okay with me, because after a few minutes of walking the trees gave way to a wide clearing. In the middle of the clearing was what I might call an old house if every house didn't look old these days. I slowed my pace considerably and approached the house.

White paint was peeling off the siding and blood stained the once green grass around the house. I pulled out my twin sai daggers and prepared to face a walker or two. Cautiously pushing what was left of a wooden door open, I checked the corners before continuing my slow invasion into the kitchen.

Throaty growls informed me that a walker was nearing, and a short spin not only revealed it to me, but sliced it's head open. It fell to the floor, blood oozing out of the wound. I picked up my paced, quickly confirming the ground floor was clear.

I raided the cupboards and somehow still working fridge, but found only rotten fruit and some canned vegetables. I sighed and shoved them in my backpack anyway, hoping for better luck upstairs.

The staircase was creaky and covered in blood, which set me on edge. I crept up them slowly, ready for a walker surprise party that might be waiting for me.

Instead, a man stood directly in front of me after I swung a door open. He looked just as surprised of me as I was of him. His one hand was missing and covered by a makeshift metal cast. A knife protruded from the metal binding and the other hand held a handgun. He slowly lowered his gun as I lowered my daggers.

"Well lookie here!" He grinned, "Hey Mexicano, we got ourselves a Brit!" I looked around to see who he might be talking to and a muscled figure in a tank top with a baseball cap on backwards came out from another room. I folded my arms across my chest stubbornly.

"You haven't gotten yourselves anyone. I take care of myself." Both men chuckled lightly, which really pissed me off. I was only 5'4 for 26 and had a petite build. Despite my rude and somewhat angry personality I had a bit of a baby face, thus leaving me much less threatening than I hope to be. And it bothers me.

"Clearly," The 'Mexicano' one snickered, "That's why your arms are covered in scars."

"Those are none of your fuckin' business." I spat, dropping my tattered sleeves from my shoulders to cover my arms. Those damn memories are ones that can never go away, and the last thing I needed were two punks pointing them out to me.

I used to cut, a lot. Very excessively. Sometimes I'd go so deep the loss of blood would cause me to black out. I grew up without a father. My mum yelled constantly. I had three little brothers to watch over and an older sister who was stoned out of her mind the majority of the time. She'd beat on the younger ones whenever they did anything and I'd get blamed for their bruises. Eventually I did begin to blame myself. I told myself I could've stopped her, done something more, and soon that pain led to cutting. But I'm older now. I'm over those childish ways. I can finally take care of myself.

"C'mon girlie, why doncha come along wit us back to our town." Handless suggested. I shook my head.

"There are no damn towns. Only the occasional refugee camp. Towns are run down with walkers." I informed him, in case the idiot didn't already know. "What're you new at this or something?" I smirked.

"We gotta town. And sorry sugar-tits, but you ain't got a choice. We find people, we bring em back to th' Governor." He shrugged indifferently. I evaluated my chances of escape and made a decision. I hesitated before nodding and heading back down the stairs, closely followed by the two men.

I stopped harshly and spun around to face them again.

"What are you guy's names anyway? You know, before I head off to your make-believe town and your imaginary governor?"

Handless spoke up first, poking his thumb at his chest, "I'm Merle. This is Martinez. Now what about you, Limey." I rolled my eyes at the comment on my nationality.

"Freya."


	3. Chapter 2: Pants and Paradise

The trip back to this so-called town was long and boring. On top of that, the military jeep they had weren't exactly first class comfortable. Not that one was used to first class quality in this shitty world Earth had become. Sometimes, out of nowhere, I would think about the celebrities; I'd wonder if they'd survived. It made me chuckle a bit to imagine Bruce Willis out there surviving like he did in the Die Hard movies. I used to love those movies.

The truck rolled over a bump, jolting me out of my thoughts as well as my seat.

"Ever hear of seat-belts, Limey?" Merle teased. I scrunched up my face in annoyance. This guy was beginning to get on my nerves.

"It's Freya." I snapped, hopping back up in the seat but still refusing to buckle up. What is Handless gonna do, give me a ticket? It's the end of the world, no one gives a flying fuck anymore.

After about five more minutes of driving, we came upon a barrier. Some men were sitting on top of it, weapons ready for any walkers that might wander in. A gate opened to let us in after Merle made himself known. And holy Jesus there was a damn town after all. An entire town who seemed to be living their lives like normal in this secluded section of hell. I had just entered and I thought it was a slice of heaven, at least compared to the shit-hole the outside world was. I couldn't help but gape at it all.

"Yeah, cuz there ain't no town!" Merle mocked upon seeing my amazement. I shot him a quick glare before turning my attention to a man approaching.

"Hello there!" He remarked cheerfully before turning to Merle, "I didn't expect you to bring back company." I could sense some annoyance behind the charming smile and joyful demeanor. At least I wasn't the only one who had trouble with this guy.

"Good, cuz she wasn't s'pected, Govern'r." Merle said, adding a hint of respect when addressing the Governor. The man sighed and turned toward me instead.

"Well, welcome to Woodbury, Miss.." He waited for a name.

"Freya." I gave him a slight smile. He seemed nice, well, at least nicer than Handless was to me.

"Miss Freya, glad to have you. I'm sure we can arrange some accommodations in time, but since it was a bit of late notice-" He shot a quick glance at Merle, "-You'll have to stay with someone. Until then, just explore the town, enjoy yourself." I nodded, but I wasn't very enthusiastic about having a roommate. I hopped out of the truck and headed over to where a small group of people were gathered.

From what I could tell, it was a social event. A man was grilling some hot dogs, and cold bottles of water sat in a ice-filled bucket on the side. It was like there wasn't an apocalypse going on at all! I was greeted by a few warm smiles until a young man with light brown hair and blue-grey eyes approached me.

"Hello!" He smiled. I held out my hand but he pulled me in for a tight hug instead. "I'm Kael. You must be new around here?" I nodded and returned his smile.

"Yeah, I'm Freya."

"Oh, are you from England?"

I nodded again. "Wolverhampton. I came here on holiday, right before all hell broke loose. Handless over there picked me up and brought me here, not exactly at my will, either." I gestured toward him, "What about you? You don't sound southern."

"No, I'm from New York. And lemme tell you they got hit really hard. I don't think many survived." He looked down at the ground only briefly before picking his head back up with a half-fake smile on his face. "So Handless, huh?" He asked, referring to the nickname I used for Merle. "You better be careful who you say that to." He warned. I gave him an understanding nod. Handless did seem pretty unstable at times. I thought it best to avoid him as much as possible. I turned my attention back to Kael, who had been talking about the places around town.

"I could give you a tour, if you like?" He offered.

I didn't even need to think about it. "I'd like that." I smiled and we headed off on our special tour of this paradise.

After a while of walking around, we started talking about our 'past lives', as he called them, and our families. I discovered that Kael was 28, and he used to be a small-time actor. He lived in Florida by himself and came over here to find his family, who are still missing. He was a very charming person, even I opened up to him. I told him about my mum and dad, who came over here to America with me and died on the train ride, just when the outbreak began to happen. I told him about my job as an artist in England, how much fun it was. Needless to say I was more relaxed than I had been in a very long time. Not any walkers to worry about, even a town to make me feel at home.

"So I don't remember you telling me your age." He implied, and I nodded.

"You shouldn't because I didn't." I smiled, "I'm 27. My turn to ask something. What's your full name?"

"Kael Levy Marks. What about yours?"

"Freya River Wilson." I brushed my blonde curls out of my face. "Your turn. Ask me a question, Levy."

"Are you going to call me that now?" He laughed.

"Yes, yes I am. My turn." I thought about it for a minute before realizing the sun was going down. "Where am I going to stay? The Mayor guy said something about it but I don't know."

"I don't know.." He looked at the sky, "But it's almost curfew, so we should find out." I nodded and we walked over to where the Governor was standing on the main road.

"Governor!" Kael got his attention. The governor smiled when he saw us. "We were just wondering if you got Freya a place to stay?" He nodded.

"Yes I do. That young girl over there," he pointed to a tan skinned teenager with strawberry blonde curly hair and brown roots, "Mia's her name, she offered to share a room with ya." I smiled.

"Thanks! Well I'll go chat with her," I turned to Kael, "G'night, Levy."

"Good night."


	4. Chapter 3: Meetings

**A/N really really sorry for the delay! I have too much going on!**

The trip back to this so-called town was long and boring. On top of that, the military jeep they had weren't exactly first class comfortable. Not that one was used to first class quality in this shitty world Earth had become. Sometimes, out of nowhere, I would think about the celebrities; I'd wonder if they'd survived. It made me chuckle a bit to imagine Bruce Willis out there surviving like he did in the Die Hard movies. I used to love those movies.

The truck rolled over a bump, jolting me out of my thoughts as well as my seat.

"Ever hear of seat-belts, Limey?" Merle teased. I scrunched up my face in annoyance. This guy was beginning to get on my nerves.

"It's Freya." I snapped, hopping back up in the seat but still refusing to buckle up. What is Handless gonna do, give me a ticket? It's the end of the world, no one gives a flying fuck anymore.

After about five more minutes of driving, we came upon a barrier. Some men were sitting on top of it, weapons ready for any walkers that might wander in. A gate opened to let us in after Merle made himself known. And holy Jesus there was a damn town after all. An entire town who seemed to be living their lives like normal in this secluded section of hell. I had just entered and I thought it was a slice of heaven, at least compared to the shit-hole the outside world was. I couldn't help but gape at it all.

"Yeah, cuz there ain't no town!" Merle mocked upon seeing my amazement. I shot him a quick glare before turning my attention to a man approaching.

"Hello there!" He remarked cheerfully before turning to Merle, "I didn't expect you to bring back company." I could sense some annoyance behind the charming smile and joyful demeanor. At least I wasn't the only one who had trouble with this guy.

"Good, cuz she wasn't s'pected, Govern'r." Merle said, adding a hint of respect when addressing the Governor. The man sighed and turned toward me instead.

"Well, welcome to Woodbury, Miss.." He waited for a name.

"Freya." I gave him a slight smile. He seemed nice, well, at least nicer than Handless was to me.

"Miss Freya, glad to have you. I'm sure we can arrange some accommodations in time, but since it was a bit of late notice-" He shot a quick glance at Merle, "-You'll have to stay with someone. Until then, just explore the town, enjoy yourself." I nodded, but I wasn't very enthusiastic about having a roommate. I hopped out of the truck and headed over to where a small group of people were gathered.

From what I could tell, it was a social event. A man was grilling some hot dogs, and cold bottles of water sat in a ice-filled bucket on the side. It was like there wasn't an apocalypse going on at all! I was greeted by a few warm smiles until a young man with light brown hair and blue-grey eyes approached me.

"Hello!" He smiled. I held out my hand but he pulled me in for a tight hug instead. "I'm Kael. You must be new around here?" I nodded and returned his smile.

"Yeah, I'm Freya."

"Oh, are you from England?"

I nodded again. "Wolverhampton. I came here on holiday, right before all hell broke loose. Handless over there picked me up and brought me here, not exactly at my will, either." I gestured toward him, "What about you? You don't sound southern."

"No, I'm from New York. And lemme tell you they got hit really hard. I don't think many survived." He looked down at the ground only briefly before picking his head back up with a half-fake smile on his face. "So Handless, huh?" He asked, referring to the nickname I used for Merle. "You better be careful who you say that to." He warned. I gave him an understanding nod. Handless did seem pretty unstable at times. I thought it best to avoid him as much as possible. I turned my attention back to Kael, who had been talking about the places around town.

"I could give you a tour, if you like?" He offered.

I didn't even need to think about it. "I'd like that." I smiled and we headed off on our special tour of this paradise.

After a while of walking around, we started talking about our 'past lives', as he called them, and our families. I discovered that Kael was 28, and he used to be a small-time actor. He lived in Florida by himself and came over here to find his family, who are still missing. He was a very charming person, even I opened up to him. I told him about my mum and dad, who came over here to America with me and died on the train ride, just when the outbreak began to happen. I told him about my job as an artist in England, how much fun it was. Needless to say I was more relaxed than I had been in a very long time. Not any walkers to worry about, even a town to make me feel at home.

"So I don't remember you telling me your age." He implied, and I nodded.

"You shouldn't because I didn't." I smiled, "I'm 27. My turn to ask something. What's your full name?"

"Kael Levy Marks. What about yours?"

"Freya River Wilson." I brushed my blonde curls out of my face. "Your turn. Ask me a question, Levy."

"Are you going to call me that now?" He laughed.

"Yes, yes I am. My turn." I thought about it for a minute before realizing the sun was going down. "Where am I going to stay? The Mayor guy said something about it but I don't know."

"I don't know.." He looked at the sky, "But it's almost curfew, so we should find out." I nodded and we walked over to where the Governor was standing on the main road.

"Governor!" Kael got his attention. The governor smiled when he saw us. "We were just wondering if you got Freya a place to stay?" He nodded.

"Yes I do. That young girl over there," he pointed to a tan skinned teenager with strawberry blonde curly hair and brown roots, "Mia's her name, she offered to share a room with ya." I smiled.

"Thanks! Well I'll go chat with her," I turned to Kael, "G'night, Levy."

"Good night."


End file.
